Kevin Durant outplayed James Harden as the Golden State Warriors edged the Houston Rockets 104-100 in their highly-anticipated Western Conference semi-finals opener.
The reigning champions are meeting Houston in the play-offs for the fourth time in five years and began this year's series with a back-and-forth game which went down to the wire.
Durant led the way with 35 points, while Stephen Curry added 18 and sealed the victory with a three-pointer with 24 seconds left on the clock.
The Rockets had the chance to tie the game just before the buzzer, but Harden missed.
The Boston Celtics managed a more emphatic win against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first game of their Eastern Conference semi-final series, recording a 112-90 victory.
Boston dominated from the off, building a 15-point lead in the first half which increased to as much as 26 in the second.
Kyrie Irving finished with 26 points and Al Horford added another 20 as the Celtics limited the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 22 points.
